TURKISH PRESS REVIEW

MONDAY JULY 15, 1996

Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning

Accompanied by a five-deputy parliamentarian delegation, Turkish
Parliament Speaker Mustafa Kalemli went to the Russian Federation
yesterday for an official visit. Kalemli said in a statement at
Istanbul Ataturk Airport that the visit was being made at the
invitation of the Speaker of the Duma of the Russian Federation,
Selezniev. Kalemli noted that he would hold talks with
parliamentarian members and a cooperation protocol encompassing
important issues between the Turkish Parliament and the Russian
Federation's Federal Assembly would be signed. /Cumhuriyet/

Turkish security forces have bottled up a band of PKK terrorists
in the mountainous region of Ararat, right on the border with
Iran. In an operation code named "Murat" Turkish troops have so
far killed one terrorist in the region, but the total for all
regional operations against the PKK is twenty-one. /Sabah/

Within the framework of the European Union (EU) customs union
agreement, Turkey wants new free trade agreements with the
Central European countries of Hungary, Romania the Czech Republic
and Slovakia along the lines of agreements already made with
Israel. Talks with the European countries are already going
ahead, with government representatives suggesting that agreements
will be signed within the next few months.

Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller confirmed over the weekend that
Turkey's free market policy would not alter following the change
in the government. She also noted that a more realistic foreign
exchange programme would be applied. /All papers/

Turkish Airlines (THY) is Europe's fastest growing airline
according to the latest surveys. The European Airlines Union
(EAU) says that THY has shown a 42.1% increase in operations
during the first three months of this year when compared to the
same period last year.

THY General Director Atilla Celebi said over the weekend that THY
was already beefing up for the next century and was negotiating
for expansion. THY has also been described as a rising star in
the market by international finance magazines. /Cumhuriyet/

During the official visit of a Turkish commercial delegation to
Iraq last week, Iraqi Minister of Commerce Mohammed Mehdi Saleh
noted that Iraq was willing to restore the intensive Turco-Iraqi
commercial relations enjoyed prior to the UN embargo imposed
against Iraq. Saleh said that the amount of goods Iraq would buy
from Turkey was bound to the amount of Iraqi oil exports, and
added that in contrast with previous oil exports amounting to
$1.2 billion monthly, now Iraqi oil exports were limited to $225
million monthly. A possible lifting of the embargo would highly
increase the volume of Turco-Iraqi trade. /Sabah/

The new coalition government is planning to speed up the
privatization process in order to gain the confidence of foreign
investors. Turk Telekom, Petrol Ofisi, Tupras and Erdemir are on
the top of the list of the establishments with total value of TL
800 trillion planned to be privatized. /Sabah/

US Deputy Chief of the General Staff Joseph Ralston arrives today
in Ankara. Ralston is expected to press for extension of the
period of stay of the Provide Comfort multinational force which
expires at the end of this month. /Sabah/

Operations by the Turkish armed forces against a PKK camp in
Bote, followed by a PKK attack against the Gulluk police station
near the Turco-Iranian border have increased the tension in
relations between Turkey and Iran. Turkey has protested to Iran
for sheltering PKK terrorists, but Iran, rejecting the
accusation, said that Turkish planes returning to their home
territory, bombed an Iranian police station near the border.
Turkish military officials, noting that the distance between the
Bote camp in Northern Iraq and the Iranian border police station
was at least 20-30 kilometers, draw attention to the unsoundness
of the Iranian claims. Last month, claiming that Turkish jet
fighters bombed two villages in its territory, Iran asked Turkey
for compensation. /Hurriyet/

President Suleyman Demirel sent a congratulatory message to
French President Jacques Chirac on France's National Day.
Pointing out that friendship and cooperation between Turkey and
France would further advance, Demirel stated that Turkey would
continue to exert efforts to this end with the support of Chirac.
/Hurriyet/

Commenting on growth in the tourism sector, Foreign Minister
Ciller said over the weekend that operators in the sector should
seek out their own financing in the international market -but
doing so with government backing. She told tourism sector
representatives during a meeting in Kemer near Antalya that it
was hoped the sector would produce ten billion dollars next year.
/Cumhuriyet/